From Digi: "From Lollipop to Oreo: Digi Embedded for Android with Backward Compatibility"

Mar 14, 2019

Last week we announced that we were rolling out support for Android Oreo. The distribution is now fully available, with documentation.

Digi Embedded for Android is the custom distribution for Digi’s ConnectCore range of embedded System-On-Modules and Single Board Computers. It bridges the gap between an operating system designed for mobile phones to one tailored to the specific needs of embedded systems.

Digi Embedded for Android Oreo has been updated to Android API 26. Applications running on the Lollipop release will also work on the new Oreo release, as Digi Embedded for Android Oreo is backward compatible with Android 5.1 Lollipop (API 22). Digi has also enhanced all APIX to work with the new Android permission system and SE Linux for the development of secure embedded devices.

Android for Embedded Devices

Android is a well-known operating system for mobile devices, but it’s also becoming increasingly popular as an operating system for high-end, graphical, and multimedia-intensive embedded products. Several factors are driving adoption in the embedded space:

APIs for hardware access: Android developers can make use of clean, easy to use, and well-documented APIs for hardware interfaces such as camera, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.

Global familiarity: The Android ecosystem has a large pool of developers with the knowledge and experience to develop robust applications.

Development tools: Android Studio provides a fully featured IDE to design, develop, and debug Android applications.

Linux-based: Android benefits from the same hardware support as other Linux kernel-based operating systems, as well as the large community of embedded Linux developers.

Open source and royalty free: Embedded Android is a great choice for quick, cost-effective prototyping, with the assurance that the same hardware, operating system, and applications can be used in demanding production environments.

The Digi Embedded for Android Oreo Release

The Digi Embedded for Android Oreo release is the latest software update for the ConnectCore 6 SOMs and SBCs, including the following features.

Digi Embedded APIX

Android has standard APIs to access the device’s hardware, including:

Audio

Bluetooth

Cameras

Touch screens

USB

Video

Wi-Fi

Digi Embedded for Android extends Android APIs to support the entire set of interfaces available on Digi’s embedded products, such as:

Digi Remote Manager: Connect with Digi’s cloud-based device management service which allows you to send and receive data from the cloud and perform fleet management tasks such as configuration and firmware updates

Watchdog: Includes both a global system-wide watchdog to reset the whole system in case of malfunctions, and application-specific watchdogs that restart only the affected application

Digi XBee: Manage and transfer data to Digi XBee devices

Android Studio Add-on

Digi Embedded for Android provides an Android Studio add-on. This easy-to-use development environment enables you to develop applications using the real Digi embedded hardware. The add-on includes sample applications, code examples, and integrated Javadoc documentation for all of Digi Embedded APIX.

Embedded Development

Digi Embedded for Android includes the whole buildable source code and its development history. Embedded Linux developers have access to the Git history for all of the distribution’s components, including Board Support Packages and Android internal layers.

Online Documentation

Digi Embedded for Android comes with extensive documentation and the well-known Digi support and services to help you bring your product to market as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Why partner with Symmetry Electronics? Symmetry's technical staff is specially trained by our suppliers to provide a comprehensive level of technical support. Our in-house Applications Engineers provide free design services to help customers early in the design cycle, providing solutions to save them time, money and frustration. Contact Symmetry for more information.

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